Motorama
by Dragon-Raptor
Summary: Ever wondered how Ramone & Flo got together? McQueen has, and now he finds out! Quick little one-shot, novelisation of a 'Deleted Scene'...


I thouht I'd share this. This is my write up of one of the 'Deleted Scenes' from the DVD of 'Cars'. I had to adjust a few things to make it fit with the final cut of the movie, but the core story, about how Ramone and Flo got together, is the same.

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Cars, or any of the characters within this fic. They all belong to Pixar/Disney

* * *

**MOTORAMA GIRLS**

Lightning had noted some time ago that Flo's license plate formed the words 'Sho Grl', but he'd never really understood what that meant. Nor had he felt comfortable about asking straight out.

Now he knew.

To celebrate the return of travellers coming through the town, the locals had organised a street party. There'd been fireworks, speeches, and plenty of flowing gas.

And then to top it off a stage had been dragged out, and Flo was currently up there, singing.

Chrysler could that girl sing!

She was in the middle of 'Nothing's gonna stop us now', to the accompaniment of a lot of cheering and wolf whistles. None louder than her husband, Ramone. The Low-rider was right up there at the edge of the stage, front raised up on his extendable shocks.

Flo looked right at Ramone, and smiled saucily, prompting a few more cat calls. Lightning swallowed, feeling his fuel pump pick up its tempo. He forced himself to look away, but to his chagrin he found himself looking at Sally, slightly off to one side and watching the married couple dreamily.

Looking at her caused Lightning's carburettor to lurch. He'd never felt this way about any other car before. It had been Sally, more than any other car in town, which had prompted him to grow up, becoming a better car. It had torn him up when he'd been pulled away... when the press and his old life had caught up and found him. Seeing her again when he made it back had lifted him up, especially the sight of her spirits being lifted.

The wolf whistles rang out louder, and Lightning turned back to the stage. He had to grin at the sight. Ramone had used his extending shocks to lift himself up to the level of the stage, and had brought both front wheels up to rest on it. To reward his daring, Flo had rolled forwards and was right now snogging his engine out. Despite all the noise around them, the two of them looked to be in a world of their own.

Lightning began to feel uncomfortable watching the two of them, and yet his curiosity was piqued. And as Doc Hudson, known to many as the racing legend 'The Fabulous Hudson Hornet', could attest, McQueen could be a persistent bugger when he was curious.

'_Just how did those two get together?'_ he wondered as the couple at last drew apart.

Ramone reversed off the stage, extending his wheels to ground level before lowering himself back down. As Flo began to sing another song, he drove out towards where the other town's folk were parked.

"Man, Flo's really steaming tonight." He said as he backed into the space by Lightning.

"That she is, you lucky son of a Buick." Lightning cocked an eye at the Impala. "How DID you get together with her anyway?" He asked, emboldened by the gasohol that had been passed around.

Ramone chuckled, leaning towards the racer a little. "Ohh... It was love at first sight. I still remember that day..."

_**...49 years ago...**_

Ramone yawned widely as he awoke, wheels stretching out several meters from his arches as he stretched. Blinking the last of the sleep from his eyes, he rolled forward, out of the small living area at the rear and into his body art shop proper. Business had been good, but the overheads were high... too high for him to get a separate place to sleep in right now.

He eased up the front windows, raising himself up a little to look outside. From the placement of the sun it appeared to be midmorning. At the V8 cafe next door he could see Sarge and Filmore, along with Luigi, taking their morning fuel. Ramone thought about joining them, but then he remembered the paperwork he had to get done. He hated it, but it was a necessary evil.

It was a couple hours later that he'd gotten everything done. It was kind of lucky that it was mid-week; there were generally less travellers on Route 66 mid-week, mainly long distance trucks and the like. He'd only had one customer so far.

The rumble of a large diesel engine drew his attention outside. Rising up, he looked down the main road to see a large rig approaching. As it closed, Ramone frowned in confusion. _'A Girl truck?' _He wondered.

Then he saw the words written on the side of the trailer, in big, pink lettering. 'Motorama Girls'

A sly smile appeared on the low-rider's mouth. The locals were about to get a taste of the big city life... the life that Ramone had left behind. He sagged a little on his shocks.

As the rig pulled away, heading towards the truck area of the V8, a ramp at the rear of the trailer dropped down.

"All right girls, roll out, and no funny business you hear me?" Said the pale grey sedan that emerged first in strict tones. She turned about to watch the open ramp with narrowed eyes, a clearly disgruntled expression on her front.

What emerged next caused the other cars in the cafe to start to drool.

Another half dozen female cars rolled out one by one, all show cars. Broad, flirty smiles graced their fronts as they swayed slightly. Their tail fins were huge, rising up above their rooflines. _'No, just four of them...'_ he corrected himself as he looked a little closer. Those four were also in a pretty pink, while the others were a light cream and a pale turquoise. Those two were also a fraction smaller than the rest, clearly younger.

Ramone chuckled at the expressions on the locals. He knew that they had never seen girls like these before! He also knew what was about to happen...

"Now you all listen here, young ladies! There will be no cavorting with the local lads. Keep your fenders to yourself, you hear me? We're stopping just long enough to let Gerta get... Oi! Cassandra, get back here!" A glance revealed that one of the girls had began to move away from the group, and towards the stunned locals.

"Young lady! What have I been telling you?" Like most chaperones, this one was harsh and strict, and so tightly sprung that she wouldn't have any body roll at all.

"But miss, we've been cooped up in there for hours! We need to have some fun!"

"Young lady, you are not on this trip to have fun in some tiny town on the road! We've got a show to produce, and I can't have any one of you..." suddenly she stopped, a worried look in her eyes.

"Miss, what's wrong?" One of the girls asked worriedly. They all crowded round the older car.

'_Okay, that was not normal...' _Ramone thought as he watched young Mater roll over.

_**...Present...**_

"Turned out that mistress had blown her transmission trying to keep those girls in line. She had to be towed to Doc clinic to get it sorted."

Lightning was eager to hear more. "So what happened then?"

Ramone smirked. "Well...

_**...Then...**_

Female laughter drifted in from outside, dragging Ramone's attention away from his latest project. Peering out, he could see that the girls were back at the V8, and they were cozying up to the others. It was smiles all round as they laughed and flirted.

Smiling, Ramone went back to his spraying, though he did keep an eye on what was happening outside. He chuckled at the sight of the 'chain dance' involving everyone outside. He barely managed to restrain his laughter when he saw one of the girls roll up to Red, who looked _so _embarrassed and yet ecstatic. What car – or in Red's case, fire truck - wouldn't be with a stunning car rubbing her side against him? He witnessed her whisper something to Red, prompting a vigorous nod from the mute fire truck. After she backed away a little, Red angled his fire hose.

Ramone smiled broadly as he watched as Red gave the show girl a nice cool shower.

After a time though he almost forgot about the girls outside. He'd started a new painting, one featuring show cars. Then came several feminine voices.

"Ohhh! You're an artist?"

Ramone turned to see the show cars were at his front door, looking in with interest. After a moment to collect himself, he smiled.

"That's right pretty lady. Ramone's shop of body art is at your service." He lifted his rear up and lowered his front, a sort of car bow. "Tell what you want and Ramone will fix you up right."

"Oh, but there's so much choice!" One said as she rolled in first, eyes running over the various hoods that lined the walls, all displaying various types of paint effect and style. "I can't decide!"

"Say..." The second spoke up, following the other. "...why don't we let the expert decide?" She looked right at the young Ramone, who froze.

"You... want me... to decide?" He asked nervously.

"Sure." The girl replied, easing forwards. The others were to each side and behind her. "After all, you're the expert, right?"

Ramone blinked. "Oh I am baby." He answered, his pride coming forth with a grin. "Who's first?" He asked, backing into the painting area.

There was a little argument, but quickly the first entered. After wrapping her wheels, chrome trim and windows in brown paper, Ramone slowly circled her, side lowered so he could get a good look.

"Well? Are you going to paint, or are you just going to ogle me?" The show car asked him with a wink and a grin.

Ramone chuckled. "Oh you are a firebrand." He chuckled, moving to his paints. After a few moments he turned back, airbrush ready. "I think a flame job is just the thing for you..."

With that, he started the spray. As he worked, his whole attention shrank down to the flames he was painting onto the show car. Nothing mattered anymore aside from ensuring that the flames, which ran from a hot pink to a blue tinted purple, flowed across the girl's curves. He didn't even notice the other cars watching, peering through windows to watch him work. Ramone didn't know it then, but the other town's folk were proud to have such a skilled artist living here. He was still a young, recent arrival.

All too soon for him they were done, and he had to set the airbrush down. It was only as he began to peel off the protective tape that he remembered the car underneath. _'What if she's displeased?'_ he feared.

When he allowed her to look in the mirror, she was still for several long seconds. And then shrieked, a high pitched, girly shriek of joy. Pulling a doughnut she faced him.

"Oh it's wonderful! Thank you!" and with that she kissed him right on the lips.

For the next few seconds Ramone was stood there, blinking as he soaked in the lingering after-effects of the kiss. It was only when the next girl spoke that he snapped out of it.

"Well, do me too!" She told him sweetly.

'_Straight to the points... hmmm...'_

For the next four hours he painted and sprayed, making masterpieces with each stroke. The others had never seen the young, lackadaisical lowrider so focused, so intense, before. He poured his heart and soul into his work. Each stroke with that airbrush was done with meticulous care and attention. Nothing less that perfection would suffice.

The second got a perfectly level set of white pinstripes down each flank, to match her direct manner. The cream one earned a pair of wings, as she had mentioned that her dream was to find love on one of these trips. The one who rolled her words and swayed the most gained rolling waves of purple down the sides.

Finally, the last one rolled onto the stand. Ramone had his back turned at the time, preparing his paints. The other girls had left and were outside, showing off their new paintwork.

At last he turned about. The first thing he noted was that it was the pale turquoise one. Then he looked a little closer...

The show car that was resting on the lift was about his age, with soft curves along her flanks. Her tail fins were not as exaggerated as on the others. In fact, they were perfect for her frame.

Her lips were shiny chrome, not too large or small. Her eyes were a stunning shade of green as she looked at him from under her lids.

Ramone felt his fuel pump slow to nearly a stand still as time seemed to stop. He'd never seen such a beauty before. Looking into her eyes, he saw her soul within them, and he realised that he had found 'the one'.

'_She's perfect. Nothing I could do would improve her, and would likely mar her.'_

He dropped the airbrush.

As her eyes darted to the fallen brush, she quirked an eye at him. "What's the matter? You too good to paint me?" She asked with a Midwestern accent, the second line delivered with a note of depression, as if something similar had happened to her before.

Ramone smiled. "No baby. You're too good for me_ to_ paint. I can't touch a Classic."

The showcar looked startled, then smiled sweetly, almost shyly. "You really think so?" She asked.

"Absolutely." Ramone stated with one-hundred percent conviction.

The showcar blushed. "I'm Flo."

"Ramone."

Flo giggled. "I knew that…"

…_**Present…**_

"…That was the moment, my man." Ramone sighed fondly as he looked back at Flo on the stage. "That was the moment when we both realised we'd found 'the one'. We talked for ages in there. We even forgot that she was still on my lift." Ramone chuckled along with Lightning.

"The next day, they were ready to pull out…"

…_**Then…**_

"All right girls, get in the trailer this second!" The mistress had her voice back, and was clearly annoyed at everything her girls had been up to while she'd been laid up. She'd looked at the new paint jobs with undisguised horror. Of course, it didn't help that the girls loved them.

"Aww, but…"

"No 'Buts' young girl! You get into that trailer now!"

Down heartened, the motorama girls rolled into the large trailer, watched over by the mistress. She frowned when she realised someone was missing.

"Flo, where are you? Dang it girl, get out here right now missy!"

From inside Ramones shop Flo sighed before looking at the low-rider besides her. "Best get it over with…"

"Don't you worry nothing baby. I'll be right there with ya." Ramone reassured her, gently laying a tire on her wing. With a smile Flo rolled outside.

"Where have you been Flo? We need to get moving now, and don't think that you're not going to get a talking to either! Now get on!" The Mistress snapped.

"I'm not coming miss." Flo stated calmly.

For a long moment there was silence. From inside the trailer the other Motorama girls peered out through windows. They'd all noted that Flo hadn't exited the Artist's shop at all during the night: they'd figured she'd decided to reward the Low-rider with more than a kiss. They were confused however to see that she had no new paint work.

"What do you mean missy?" The Mistress intoned sharply.

"I'm staying here Miss." Flo met her gaze solidly. "I quit."

"WHAT?!?!?" The mistress looked like she'd blow her transmission – again. "What do you mean you're staying here?"

At this moment Ramone rolled out next to Flo, wordlessly offering his support. The mistresses eyes narrowed at the sight of him.

"You giving up this life for the likes of _him_? You think you're in love? What could you possibly know of love, girl? You're barely an adult, and you think you know it all?"

Flo sighed. "I know that I want to stay Miss. You can't force me to go with you. Not now."

The Mistress huffed and spluttered, but she knew that Flo was right. And her authority was also ebbed by the cheers and well wishes from the trailer as the other girls, working out what was going on, congratulated their youngest companion. She was about to launch another retort, but then the female rig pulled up.

"Come on, get in Tara! We're got to go now! Let her go and have a good life here." Tara didn't notice, but the rig glanced over to the café, looking at Big Al, the local rig. A shared smile formed on both their lips.

"Fine!" Tara snapped before driving up the ramp. As it rose she made one last parting shot. "You'll regret this, mark my words!"

…_**Present…**_

"…And so they rolled out, left our town. And Flo stayed."

Lightning smiled, but a couple of things bothered him. "Did you two ever regret her choice?"

Ramone smirked. "Not yet."

Lightning chuckled with the Low-Rider, but then moved to his other question, one which was much more important to him. "I wonder… how did you know that Flo was The One?" Lightning was no longer looking at either Ramone or Flo. Instead his eyes were fixed on Sally.

Ramone chuckled. "You just know kid. You just know." Seeing that Lightning wasn't look at him, he followed the racers line of sight. He smiled knowingly when his eyes landed on a certain pale blue Porsche…


End file.
